Economy
IFC Invests $5m in Equator Fund to Drive Climate Tech Financing in Africa
By Adedapo Adesanya
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced a $5 million investment in the larger $54 million pool of Equator Africa Fund I, as part of its drive to bridge the persistent financing gaps that exist in Africa for climate tech innovation.
This marks its first-ever investment in a venture capital fund entirely focused on supporting businesses and innovation in the climate sector.
Equator Africa is backing early-stage, tech-enabled companies in sub-Saharan Africa, including those working on green solutions in the energy, agriculture, and mobility sectors. The fund achieved a first close of $40 million in April 2023.
Africa is the continent most vulnerable to the effects of climate change but also stands to benefit from sustainable solutions delivered by up-and-coming tech companies. The fund’s primary geographic focus is expected to be Kenya and Nigeria, but it has invested in companies with operations across the continent, including in Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Madagascar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zambia.
IFC’s investment is supported by a $1.5 million guarantee from the Korea Green Resilient and Innovative Development (K-GRID) Programme, a $30 million initiative by the Government of Korea to support IFC projects that help reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions and facilitate the development and commercialization of technologies to improve climate mitigation.
IFC’s investment in Equator was made through its new $225 million Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan Venture Capital Platform which seeks to strengthen venture capital ecosystems and invest in early-stage companies addressing development challenges through technological innovations in climate, health care, education, agriculture, e-commerce, and other sectors.
Speaking on the funding, Mr Nijhad Jamal, Managing Partner at Equator, said, “We are thrilled to have IFC participate in our fund and support Equator’s mandate to invest in technology-enabled, early-stage ventures that are accelerating an equitable climate transition in sub-Saharan Africa. Together we hope to address a critical financing gap for Seed and Series A-stage climate-tech companies as they scale in the region.”
Adding his input, Mr Farid Fezoua, IFC’s Global Director for Disruptive Technologies, Services, and Funds, said, “Climate tech is an exciting area of innovation and impact in Africa, where businesses are helping economies grow while reducing emissions and resource use. IFC’s investment in Equator Africa reflects our commitment to supporting those businesses to deliver solutions, from renewable energy to electric vehicles.”
The fund has already invested in six companies including SunCulture, which provides solar-powered energy and irrigation systems to farmers; Roam, which designs and develops EV motorbikes and electric buses; Odyssey, a data and tech platform for investment and asset management for distributed renewable energy infrastructure; Apollo Agriculture, which provides input financing and advisory services to smallholder farmers; Ibisa, which provides parametric insurance products for climate risks; and Downforce Technologies, which makes soil organic carbon measurement technology accessible and affordable.
Other notable limited partners in the fund include British International Investment (BII), the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Shell Foundation, DOEN Participaties, and Proparco.
In addition to capital, IFC is also expected to provide support around environmental and social governance and gender.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
